Rohingyas get all rights, West Pak refugees none

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 7

Rohingya Muslims, displaced from Myanmar and Bangladesh due to internal strife in their respective countries, have managed to get citizenship rights in Jammu and Kashmir.

On the other hand, West Pakistan refugees, a majority of whom are Dalits, have been struggling even for the basic fundamental rights.

Rohingya Muslims have managed to enter the state in recent years, but poor refugees from West Pakistan have been living in Jammu since 1947. They had entered Jammu to survive the holocaust of Partition.

Even after 67 years, these Dalit refugees have been struggling to get basic rights. Rohingyas have managed “everything” due to patronage by some elements in the administration and support of some political groups.

The issue of Rohingyas living in Jammu and Kashmir came to the fore again after a decision of the Union Government to convene a meeting of seven states to discuss the issue.

Concerned over more than 1 lakh Rohingya Muslims settling in India, the Centre has convened a meeting of top officials of seven states, including Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, on July 20 to discuss “monitoring their activities given their vulnerability to radicalisation”.

“Rohingyas have been illegally infiltrating into Jammu and Kashmir. Our forefathers had entered the state during Partition. We are genuine refugees, but the authorities are giving importance to infiltrators rather than solving our issue,” said Labha Ram Gandhi, chairman of the West Pakistani Refugees Action Committee.

“Illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have been given all democratic and constitutional rights, but we are deprived of even basic fundamental rights,” he rued. He added that no other country gave all rights to infiltrators and treated genuine refugees as “slaves”.

Data says there are 25,460 West Pakistani families in the Jammu region, of which nearly 90 per cent are Dalits. These families are spread in Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts.

At present, nearly 1,000 Rohingyas are living in many makeshift slum colonies in different parts of the Jammu region, mostly working as ragpickers and labourers.

Interestingly, a majority of Rohingyas have managed to get ration cards and other official documents. With the connivance of some politicians and officials in the administration, a number of Rohingyas have been leading settled lives in Jammu and adjoining localities.

Furthermore, some radical groups are active solving daily problems of these illegal infiltrators in the name of social service. The case of West Pakistan refugees is not the same.